Watching My Sister’s Rape

That day had started off like any other. If you had asked me in the morning if I expected anything at all out of the ordinary to happen, I would have shrugged and said no. I woke up at 7 AM, had breakfast, went to school, and was perfectly content with going home at the end of the day, watching some TV, and waiting to start it all over again tomorrow. But that’s not what ended up happening…

The main problem was the bullies. How pathetic is that? I mean, how many high school seniors do you know who still get bullied? Of course, it wasn’t just me. Most people in my grade went in silent apprehension of those kids. The ones who, for whatever reason, decided that their purpose at this stage of their lives is to hurt and torment others. Most people were not legitimately afraid, but rather went in constant care, always subconsciously aware that while they had nothing to worry about for now, all that could change in the blink of an eye. Not me, though. For me and the several other students who had somehow ended up on the shit list of Josh, Tyler, and their posse, fear was the order of the day. They beat us up. Stole from us. Humiliated us. The teachers didn’t know about it (we were afraid to tell them) and the other students didn’t care (they were just glad it was us and not them).

So that Friday, I come home in the afternoon, trying to get to my room as inconspicuously as possible. My shirt sleeve is ripped, my lip is split, and I have a black eye. All in all, I look like I just got mugged. My parents are at work until late at night, so I figure I can just hide out and deal with it on my own. But when I unlock the front door and walk in, I’m not alone. My older sister is sitting on the couch, flipping through TV channels.

My sister, Alexa, is everything I’m not. She’s lively and outgoing where I’m shy and introverted. She’s passionate and dedicated where I’m a slacker. And while I’m very forgettable in terms of looks, Alexa is not. There was a brief period when she was a teenager during which she gained some weight. She hated it, and with her typical dedication, began an exercise schedule that took care of that problem for good. She kept at it, and was rewarded with a beautiful body: a flat stomach, toned thighs, a round, fit butt, and a slim waist. I was always jealous of how easy she made it look.

Anyway, I walk in and there she is. She was in her sophomore year of college then, and was visiting for the weekend. She wanted to become a veterinarian ever since she first started watching Animal Planet as a little kid. She looks up with a bright smile when I come in. It quickly turns to horror as she sees the state I’m in. Horrified, she starts asking all kinds of questions about what happened to me, who did it, etc. Questions I try to deflect and shrug off, but she’s nothing if not persistent. Plus, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. She soon learns that I’m being bullied. Alexa doesn’t stand for these kinds of things. She gets that fierce, determined look in her eye, and tells me to go change right now. She tells me we’re going to go get my stolen phone back from Tyler, and then we’re going straight to the school to demand action.

Obviously, I try to explain to her what a bad idea this is.

“These guys aren’t regular, troubled bullies,” I tell her. “They actually just think hurting people is fun. They really just enjoy watching people suffer. Just drop it, I can get a new phone, I promise I’ll avoid them from now on…” you get the idea. Anything I can think of to avoid having to go see these guys again. Alexa isn’t having any of it. She insists that this is the best way to deal with it, and that even if I don’t do it, she’s going to take care of this situation once and for all.
“Nobody messes with my little brother like this,” she says, and just like that it’s decided. I change and we leave together. I feel physically sick and terrified, but at the time, I honestly had a little bit of faith that maybe Alexa could actually deliver.

I know exactly where they are. They’ll be drinking at Tyler’s house, waiting for night so they can go to bars and drink some more. Sure enough, when we arrive, we can hear music from outside the door. Alexa gives me a comforting smile, and rings the doorbell. The music stops.
It’s Josh who opens the door. At first, he seems utterly confused. I’m definitely the last person in the world he was expecting to see, especially next to a pretty girl like Alexa. But his face quickly goes back to its usual cold scowl.

“What do you want?” he asks. Before I can say anything, Alexa responds.

“I think you know perfectly well who he is. I’m his older sister, and from what I hear, you and I are going to have a problem.”

If I didn’t feel like throwing up, I might have appreciated how comical the situation looked. Josh is about six feet tall, a full 9 inches taller than Alexa. He also has 90 pounds on her, easy. Still, she’s standing there in a cute floral sundress, hands on her hips, glaring bloody murder at him. He doesn’t seem to know what to say, but by now, Tyler has come to see what the holdup is. He’s about the same size as Josh, but doesn’t seem to lose the ability to speak in this situation. Instead, he looks slightly embarrassed and shuffles his feet awkwardly.

“Look, this just a misunderstanding,” he says. “Come in, I’ll get you the phone, and then we can just move on, okay? We won’t even talk to you guys anymore.”
I couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d have handed me a million dollars. This reaction was mind-bogglingly…reasonable. Looking back, that should have set off a thousand red flags in my mind, but I’m so desperate to believe it that I push those concerns aside.